


Tony Stark's Continued Evolution

by CloakedSparrow



Series: Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers: Age of Ultron (movies)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Mentions of PTSD, Mild Language, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 11:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5332880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloakedSparrow/pseuds/CloakedSparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Well, it’s time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <i>Steve wore an odd expression, Tony didn't know what to make of it. “The simple life.”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>“You’ll get there one day.”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Steve surprised him with his response. “I don’t know. Family, stability; the guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Tony got in his car and rolled down the window. He couldn't tell what was going on with the other man. “You alright?”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i> “I’m home.”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i></i><br/><b>Now I'm going to count down from three and when I'm finished, you're going to wake up and you are going to remember all of this. Three... Two... One...</b><br/> </p><p>  <i>Tony's eyes opened. </i></p><p> </p><p><i>He was sitting in his new therapist's office. “What the hell was all that?” He demanded.</i> </p><p>In which Tony decides to go to a real therapist (sort of) after the events of Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His therapist has a unique way of making his patient face his issues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony Stark's Continued Evolution

Tony took one last look at the building he had donated to be used as the new Avengers training center. “Well, it’s time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton’s book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.”

Steve wore an odd expression, Tony didn't know what to make of it. “The simple life.”

“You’ll get there one day.” It was all Tony could think of to say. He wasn't good with this touchy-feels stuff, but he supposed what he had been describing was what someone from the good old days would have expected out of life. 

Steve surprised him with his response. “I don’t know. Family, stability; the guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago. I think someone else came out.”

Tony couldn't tell what was going on with the other man. “You alright?”

Steve looked back at the training center calmly. “I’m home.”

_Now I'm going to count down from three and when I'm finished, you're going to wake up and you are going to remember all of this. Three... Two... One..._

Tony's eyes opened. 

He was sitting in his new therapist's (scratch that, therapist-in-training) office. The young man was in his second year in a clinical psychology doctoral program. Tony was only his third patient, but Pietro Maximoff had some unique attributes that made Tony believe the young man would have better luck at understanding his issues than your run-of-the-mill PHD.

The fact that the Avengers had sprung Pietro and his equally gifted twin sister from a HYDRA cell also added to Tony trusting the young man. Considering the whole SHIELD being a beard for HYDRA thing, Tony thought it wasn't unreasonable to have some serious trust issues. 

But that wasn't why he was there. He was there for Pepper. He had promised her he would get a handle on his PTSD and if there was one person Tony had no intention of ever letting down, it was Pepper. 

Granted, it had taken a couple years to get here. Taking into consideration that he had to fix what Killian had done to Pepper, handle some PR nightmares, take care of the shrapnel and hardware in his chest, regroup with the Avengers a few times to fight HYDRA, and find a therapist who was qualified to understand the issues he faced both as Tony Stark and Iron Man, Tony thought he was doing alright on the boyfriend front. Pepper wasn't complaining, anyway, so Tony was counting it as a win.

Sitting on the sofa across from the one Tony was lying on, was his therapist, Pietro. His sister-slash-assistant was sitting beside him. One of her jewelry laden hands was touching her brother's temple and the other as extended toward Tony. A hint of red seemed to track her movements for a second as she lowered her hands. The color faded as though imagined before Tony could comment on it.

“What the hell was all that?” Tony demanded. 

“That was your subconscious showing us the cause and extent of your anxiety, paranoia and depression.” Pietro answered, sounding pleased by the result of their session. As if anything that Tony had just dreamed up made any kind of sense. 

Tony lifted his eyebrows. “And that helps me get over my PTSD _how_?” 

“Because now we know what to start working on.” Pietro smiled. “Your mind showed us how to heal it.”

“How to heal- It didn't show us anything we can work with. That was all nonsense. The worst Captain America comics I ever read made more sense and I read the weird time-travel annual from the early 70s.”

Tony stood up and paced around a bit, gesturing all over the place as he spoke. Pietro seemed to have grown used to his manic energy and Wanda just watched him curiously. 

“I was a total ass. And a complete disaster. Even more than usual and even _I_ know that's saying something. I lied to everyone and made a giant murder-bot! What the hell was that about?”

“I believe Ultron represented the destruction you know you can cause if you don't get a grip on yourself,” Pietro explained. One of the other things that Tony liked about him was that he didn't waste time by honey-coating anything. “Ultron didn't recognize his own failings or see that his way wasn't always correct. He tried to grab further than his reach and nearly destroyed everything he was meant to protect. This is your greatest fear, no?” 

Tony didn't want to answer that, but he knew it didn't really matter. Pietro had stressed in their first session that it was alright for Tony not to tell Pietro all the answers as long as he acknowledged them to himself. Usually, Tony spoke anyway. He liked having an audience and it felt good to get it all off his chest.

This, however, Tony didn't want to put out there. The thing was, he _could_ see himself doing most of what he'd done in his vision. He didn't think he'd ever take it to the extreme he had: bullying Bruce, going behind the team's back and attacking Steve when they disagreed with him. He hoped he wouldn't.

Tony made a mental note to have JARVIS wipe all the Ultron schematics and tell Bruce to forget it as soon as he left Pietro's office.

“What about you two? Why were you there? You were trying to kill us. Was that me or was that her?” Tony turned to Wanda, defensive. “You know I wasn't behind the attack on-”

“Please, we are not children, Mr Stark.” Wanda interrupted with a scoff. “Once, we blamed you, but then we grew up. We know the difference between a man who builds weapons and a man who wields them at innocents.”

“My sister speaks the truth,” Pietro added before returning to the purpose of their session. “I believe we were representations of your guilt. It is _you_ who has not forgiven your past as a heartless arms manufacturer.” 

Tony frowned at the word 'heartless'. Pietro shrugged and Tony relented. He _had_ been a bit of an idiot in the past. 

“The good news is that you have already begun to confront this guilt. You stood up to it in your vision and even killed off a significant amount of it.” Pietro gestured to himself. Then, he indicated his sister. “The remaining manifestation showed signs of understanding, even sympathy, near the end. You are already on the road to recovery in that regard.”

“Huh. That's good, right?” It was something to tell Pepper, at least. “But what about Bruce and the devil woman? They've never shown any interest in each other and I'm pretty sure she's got a thing for Barton, so... Where did _that_ come from?”

“You want to see your friend happy.” Pietro replied simply. “Ms Romanoff is the only one you know with a past uglier than your friend's. She is someone who could fight beside him and never judge him.”

“And the whole...human weapon and sterilization part?” That had been a little disturbing. Tony didn't want to think of what was wrong in his mind that he would dream that scenario up. 

Although in truth, he thought his mind might have had a little help with that part. He had offered Steve a program to help translate the HYDRA file on his friend, once he'd learned about it. He didn't mention that the scans Steve made to use it were automatically added to JARVIS' database. Didn't mention that he now knew about all the horrible things Hydra had done to Bucky.

Tony actually hadn't been able to finish reading the file. He asked JARVIS for highlights instead. That had been enough to trigger his paranoia and worsen his still-poor sleeping habits. The nightmares it caused had been the worst he'd ever had and that was saying something. He wondered if Steve had read it all, how he had handled it.

Tony forced his mind to focus on his therapist. That had been something they'd covered early on; focusing on one train of thought at a time.

“The possibility of passing his condition on to a child would be a deal-breaker for your friend, yes?” Pietro waited until Tony thought about that and then reluctantly nodded. “So your subconscious covered all the bases that would stop him from accepting the sort of love you want him to find. The sort you have found with Ms Potts.”

“But he didn't.” Tony sighed. “He didn't go with her.”

“Because you know that he would never accept what was offered,” Wanda chimed in again. Tony and Pietro both nodded. She wasn't technically supposed to offer any opinions on what she saw in the treatment. She wasn't studying psychology like her brother, but Pietro had thought her abilities could help Tony, since they hadn't been making much progress using traditional therapy. 

Still, she made a good point.

“And the Cap?” Tony asked, thinking about how confused he had felt talking to the man at the end of his vision. “He seemed kinda...inconsistent. That whole 'language' thing? That didn't make any sense. He swears just as much as I do, and not in an old comic-y way like that weird 'you old son of a bitch' remark. He sounded like an old war general in one of those old black and white movies Pepper likes.”

Again, Pietro did not seem to find this nearly as strange as Tony did. His answer came clear and immediate, as if it had been exceedingly obvious to him. It was annoying, but that ability to look past the superfluous details was one of the main reasons Tony signed on with the young man. He could look past details others would get stuck on and stick to the point as if everything Tony said were normal.

“You grew up with a vision of Steve Rogers in your mind, born from the stories you heard from your father and his colleagues. Also from what you read in the Captain America comic books and saw on the History channel. Your mind is trying to reconcile that man with the real man you have begun to know. A young soldier who is a good man, but just as flawed and lost as the rest of us.”

“Huh.” Tony picked up a random object and started fiddling with it. He supposed he hadn't really given the Captain a fair chance at making his own impression. “Something else to blame on the old man, then. My old man, not the Cap.”

Tony really didn't want to talk about his father right now. He had enough going on. “And Barton's surprise family farm in the middle of bum fuck nowhere? Was that just to clear the way for Bruce's failed hook-up?”

“Possibly,” Pietro acquiesced, which Tony had discovered was therapist for 'not likely'. He waited for the rest and smirked to himself when Pietro continued. “Or it could have been your subconscious' way of showing you the unrealistic nature of your own dreams.”

Tony frowned. His mind immediately went to the secret safe in his workshop, where he had hidden the ring he'd bought for Pepper in between the time he fixed her Extremis issue and removed his arc reactor. He still hadn't given it to her. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for.

“ _My_ dreams?”

Pietro and Wanda both gave him an unimpressed look, but only Pietro answered. “That you could have both a bold public image as an unstoppable force against evil and a peaceful home where you could be certain of your loved one's safety.” 

“You're saying I have to choose?” Tony was already thinking of ways to fireproof and bulletproof Clint's fake house. It would be easy to make an underground work shop with all that land. 

“No,” Pietro's response was calm and his expression sincere, if a little sympathetic. 

“What your subconscious and I are saying is that you have to make a realistic compromise and remember that you cannot control all things. There will never be a guarantee such as the one we all want for our loved ones.” He reached over and gave his sister's hand a gentle squeeze. She returned the gesture with a small smile. 

Tony sighed. “So my ego is a giant crazy murder-bot. One of my best friends is doomed to be alone. I've been a dick to guy I don't know nearly as well as I like to think I do. I have no idea what's going on with my other teammates. I have to prioritize either Pepper or-" He drew his brows as something suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, why wasn't Pepper in my vision? Rhodey was barely there, too..”

“You don't have any subconscious issues to address regarding either of those relationships.” Pietro answered with a grin. “They're normal, healthy.”

Tony was delighted and baffled. “Normal? Healthy? Really? Have you met me?”

“Your normal is not going to be what you believe to be the normal of others, and yes, those relationships are healthy. They are respectful, compassionate and equal.” Pietro stood and glanced at the clock. “And on that happy note, I think we should end today's session. We've already run late.”

“I'll walk you out.” Wanda offered as she stood as well. Tony nodded, thinking over everything they had talked about while the twins said their goodbyes. 

They walked out of the small office building (that Tony had paid the next year's worth of rent on without telling his therapist) in comfortable silence. Wanda wasn't prone to filling silences and Tony's mind was racing, as was usual. His thoughts, however, were not the norm. 

He could stick with Stark Industries. Keep Bruce on for as long as his friend would stay and work on making the world a better place in ways that didn't involve suits of armor and mass destruction. Clean energy, advanced prosthetics, learning tools. Bruce's associate, Doctor Cho, had been talking about working together. He could find out what that was all about. 

The Avengers would always be there when needed, but were they needed as often as they were called upon? Armies from outer space definitely called for them but were they needed to track down _every_ HYDRA base? Pepper would definitely sleep better at night if he tapped out more often.

In the parking lot, Wanda glanced at Tony with a thoughtful look. “She would say yes if you asked.”

“Who? Pepper?” Tony stopped walking and faced the redhead with a menacing expression. “You stay out of her head. She-”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “I have not looked into her mind. I would not do that to her without permission.” Wanda gained a playful gleam to her eye as they both turned to continue walking. “I simply saw the way she looked at you when you first came here together. A woman can tell these things, you know.”

Tony couldn't help but grin. “Is that so?”

“Mm-hm.” Wanda split from Tony so her car was between them. She looked across the roof as she unlocked the door. “You should ask.”

Tony smiled as hopped into his convertible. “Maybe I will.” He looked through the windows of Wanda's car. “Hey?”

She rolled down the passenger window and leaned over to listen to him. “Yes?”

“Does that women's intuition tell you where she'd like to have the question popped?” 

Wanda smiled. “Keep it private, simple. None of your huge gestures.”

Tony frowned. “Where's the fun in that?”

“When she says 'yes'.” Wanda answered. She started her engine. “Have a nice evening, Mr Stark.”

Tony smiled. “Call me Tony.” He waved as she drove off and then started his own car. “JARVIS?”  


_Yes, sir?_

“Change of plans regarding Ultron. We're scrapping the project. I don't care if Pym beats us to AI. The old man is right; every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die.” Steve had actually said that, more to himself than to Tony and it was because of SHIELD and Hydra's actions, but Tony could see the truth in it now.

 _Very good, sir. Shall I inform Dr Banner?_

“Yeah, and ask him to meet me in my workshop when I get back. Rhodey, too. I need to run some proposal ideas by them.”

 _Wonderful, sir._ Tony could swear JARVIS sounded pleased. _I'll notify them straight away._

Tony smiled and enjoyed the ride home. He decided to ask Maria to find out how Pietro was doing with his student loans once he got back. He definitely wanted to make sure that kid kept going. He was going to help a lot people. 

Tony would too. Maybe not the way he planned, but that didn't matter. Like he'd told Bruce: One thing you couldn't take away…he was Iron Man. With or without the suit.


End file.
